LOW CARB SUCCESS STORIES

[Hedonista]

I don't post very often, but I do come by for encouragement, so thought I'd offer some too. I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 2014 with an HbA1c of 47. Been lc/hf since then, and have had my ups and downs. Lost about 4 stone, put quite a bit back on, had periods when life was very hard and I went right off the rails, the odd period of LOTS of wine etc, but over all I've kept at it, not given myself too hard a time, and done my best. Seven years down the line I've just had a full MOT. Liver and kidneys good, cholesterol down from 5.5 to under 5, blood pressure the lowest it's ever been, and I've maintained my A1c at about high 30s for the entire time. I feel very well, I enjoy my food and my life, and can happily do this forever. I walk almost everyday - anything between 2 and 5 miles, but don't do much other exercise. My 'regime' feels achievable and realistic and effective. Some people may be more ambitious about their outcomes than me, but I'm happy with what I've achieved. So if you're feeling daunted, or you're struggling, or new to all this, I'd say find your own level, something you can maintain over time, let yourself off the hook if you really need to, and take care of yourself mind, spirit and body. Good luck to everyone xxx

 

[pdmjoker]

3rd July 2021 marks my 3rd Keto anniversary! I have maintained the 4 stone (25kg) total weight loss, and although I was prediabetic before going Keto (HbA1c 42) my latest HbA1c was a very low 33.

Many thanks to those who run this forum and all who have supported me personally on my journey (and sorry about all the awful puns! )

For more info please see the documents in my signature or attached to my post here

Extra info can be found at my mobile friendly website https://easierdieting.github.io/

 

[Bex72]

Hello, I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with type 2 in August 2020 and had been successful at keeping my HbA1c in a non diabetic range adopting a low carb diet and avoiding meds.
However, my latest blood test reveals an increase in blood glucose into a prediabetic range, from 38 mml/mol to 43 mml/mol.
My cholesterol is also high too and I’ve been asked to arrange an appointment with the diabetic nurse.

My version of low carb involves swapping carbs and avoiding the obvious culprits (bread, pasta, sweet fruits and certain veg, potatoes, rice, added sugar...)

I have 85% cocoa dark chocolate as a treat.

I have, in all likelihood, caused the increase in blood glucose by becoming slightly slack by eating:

Breaded chicken,
Too many squares of dark chocolate
Too many handfuls of nuts (salted)
Too many milky coffees (latte etc)

I have lost 2.5 stone. My BMI is c. 19/20. I exercise regularly. My thyroid medication is being adjusted as I have become overactive. I have some abdominal discomfort/loose bowel issues which are being investigated ( on reflection, the thyroid being out of kilter wouldn’t have helped). My weight is stable but I am really conscious about not losing any more weight. This is essential as my teenager has suffered from an eating disorder.

I have options on how to proceed:
1. See nurse and follow her advice, based on previous conversations and nhs literature provided by her this will be take medication for diabetes and cholesterol and adopt eat well guide
2. Ask nurse for help with diet by being referred to a dietician (it would seem unlikely that I’d be able to access the right person)
3. Ask to be referred onto the low carb program
4. Get diet advice privately or self fund low carb program.
5. Improve diet using my low carb cookbooks, add better fats

If anyone has any thoughts about this please let me know your opinion. Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[pdmjoker]

Hello, I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with type 2 in August 2020 and had been successful at keeping my HbA1c in a non diabetic range adopting a low carb diet and avoiding meds.
However, my latest blood test reveals an increase in blood glucose into a prediabetic range, from 38 mml/mol to 43 mml/mol.
My cholesterol is also high too and I’ve been asked to arrange an appointment with the diabetic nurse.

My version of low carb involves swapping carbs and avoiding the obvious culprits (bread, pasta, sweet fruits and certain veg, potatoes, rice, added sugar...)

I have 85% cocoa dark chocolate as a treat.

I have, in all likelihood, caused the increase in blood glucose by becoming slightly slack by eating:

Breaded chicken,
Too many squares of dark chocolate
Too many handfuls of nuts (salted)
Too many milky coffees (latte etc)

I have lost 2.5 stone. My BMI is c. 19/20. I exercise regularly. My thyroid medication is being adjusted as I have become overactive. I have some abdominal discomfort/loose bowel issues which are being investigated ( on reflection, the thyroid being out of kilter wouldn’t have helped). My weight is stable but I am really conscious about not losing any more weight. This is essential as my teenager has suffered from an eating disorder.

I have options on how to proceed:
1. See nurse and follow her advice, based on previous conversations and nhs literature provided by her this will be take medication for diabetes and cholesterol and adopt eat well guide
2. Ask nurse for help with diet by being referred to a dietician (it would seem unlikely that I’d be able to access the right person)
3. Ask to be referred onto the low carb program
4. Get diet advice privately or self fund low carb program.
5. Improve diet using my low carb cookbooks, add better fats

If anyone has any thoughts about this please let me know your opinion. Thanks for taking the time to read.

You seem to have made good progress with Low Carb but things have slipped somewhat. My guess is you could improve things greatly by adjusting what you eat. (eg Breaded chicken is really dubious - just remove the coating? - and possibly too much choc also.) Options 3-5 look most likely to be productive.

If unsure of a food item, do you have a blood glucose meter to see how your BG responds to what you have eaten?

You really need a cholesterol breakdown (ldl, hdl, trigs) since hdl is thought protective, so just an overall figure isn't v helpful (I gather cardiologists use trigs/hdl to calculate cardiovascular risk)

PS I gather the best fats for most people are olive oil, butter, dripping and coconut oil, and about 75% of people see a reduction in LDL in response to an increase in fat consumption, although this link suggests coconut oil and coffee might be an issue.

 

[Hedonista]

Hello, I am 49 years old, was diagnosed with type 2 in August 2020 and had been successful at keeping my HbA1c in a non diabetic range adopting a low carb diet and avoiding meds.
However, my latest blood test reveals an increase in blood glucose into a prediabetic range, from 38 mml/mol to 43 mml/mol.
My cholesterol is also high too and I’ve been asked to arrange an appointment with the diabetic nurse.

My version of low carb involves swapping carbs and avoiding the obvious culprits (bread, pasta, sweet fruits and certain veg, potatoes, rice, added sugar...)

I have 85% cocoa dark chocolate as a treat.

I have, in all likelihood, caused the increase in blood glucose by becoming slightly slack by eating:

Breaded chicken,
Too many squares of dark chocolate
Too many handfuls of nuts (salted)
Too many milky coffees (latte etc)

I have lost 2.5 stone. My BMI is c. 19/20. I exercise regularly. My thyroid medication is being adjusted as I have become overactive. I have some abdominal discomfort/loose bowel issues which are being investigated ( on reflection, the thyroid being out of kilter wouldn’t have helped). My weight is stable but I am really conscious about not losing any more weight. This is essential as my teenager has suffered from an eating disorder.

I have options on how to proceed:
1. See nurse and follow her advice, based on previous conversations and nhs literature provided by her this will be take medication for diabetes and cholesterol and adopt eat well guide
2. Ask nurse for help with diet by being referred to a dietician (it would seem unlikely that I’d be able to access the right person)
3. Ask to be referred onto the low carb program
4. Get diet advice privately or self fund low carb program.
5. Improve diet using my low carb cookbooks, add better fats

If anyone has any thoughts about this please let me know your opinion. Thanks for taking the time to read.

I definitely wobbled my numbers with breaded stuff - chicken, quorn fillets and what have you. I really love them (Love carbs) and while I'm sure the occasional one doesn't make much difference, once I start it quietly escalates!

 

[Oldvatr]

Fish fingers and Turkey goujons spike me badly but somehow a jumbo cod in batter with said batter included hardly makes any impression.

 

[coby]

Re: Success stories

I was diagnosed with Type 2 just over 2 years ago at a routine new patient check up with the doctor. Overall, my surgery is great with a very proactive diabetes care team and a brilliant and open-minded diabetic nurse who I cannot praise highly enough. However, the GP I have to see who is the only diabetes specialist is not so good, very traditional and old-fashioned. On the day I was diagnosed, the diabetic nurse was on holiday and so I saw the doctor who told me that I had to eat 14 portions of carbs a day. My stats at diagnosis were BG 23, cholesterol 9.4, triglycerides 5.9 and weight 107 kgs. Prescribed 1000mg Metformin, 2mg Glimepiride and 40mg Simvastatin. I duly went away and followed the GP's advice and spent 3 months feeling iller and iller. I put on another 8kgs and at my follow up 3 months later my HbA1C was 9.7, cholesterol 9.1, triglycerides 5.9 and weight 115kgs. I also suffered crippling pains in my hands so bad that I had to soak them in hot water several times a day to stop them cramping completely. As I was doing so badly, I again had to see the GP who told me off for gaining weight, told me to eat more carbs and increased my medication to 2000mg Metformin, 6mg Glimepiride and 60mg Simvastatins. Went home feeling completely depressed and feeling like death. At this point I decided to do some research and found out about low carbing and the side effects that statins can have. I made an appointment to see the diabetic nurse who encouraged me to take up a low carb diet and took me off the statins. Within a few weeks, I was feeling much better and had stopped having the hand cramps. I have low carbed ever since with the support of my diabetic nurse and have never felt better. I have gone from a dress size 28 to a size 14 and my last stats were HbA1C 5.2, cholesterol 4.8, triglycerides 1.2. My nurse has told me off the record that she believes whole-heartedly in low carbing having seen positive results in many patients but is constricted by the NHS guidelines. I would not hesitate to recommend giving low carb a try.

 

[jjraak]

3rd July 2021 marks my 3rd Keto anniversary! I have maintained the 4 stone (25kg) total weight loss, and although I was prediabetic before going Keto (HbA1c 42) my latest HbA1c was a very low 33.

Many thanks to those who run this forum and all who have supported me personally on my journey (and sorry about all the awful puns! )

For more info please see the documents in my signature or attached to my post here

Extra info can be found at my mobile friendly website https://easierdieting.github.io/

Checked out that link
Quite a lot of works gone into that .well done.


Useful links and helpful

Have passed on to my daughter to help her understand a little more about diets & food.

All laid out in very easily understandable form

Thank you for posting

 

[pdmjoker]

Checked out that link
Quite a lot of works gone into that .well done.


Useful links and helpful

Have passed on to my daughter to help her understand a little more about diets & food.

All laid out in very easily understandable form

Thank you for posting

Thank you for the positive feedback and I hope your daughter finds it helpful.

As I put on the website:

There seems to be so much contradictory and even dubious information on weight-loss from all quarters (amateurs, qualified health professionals and in the media) that I wanted to add my voice to those talking what seems sense, is based on credible research and agrees with the personal experience of many.​

 

[Bex72]

You seem to have made good progress with Low Carb but things have slipped somewhat. My guess is you could improve things greatly by adjusting what you eat. (eg Breaded chicken is really dubious - just remove the coating? - and possibly too much choc also.) Options 3-5 look most likely to be productive.

If unsure of a food item, do you have a blood glucose meter to see how your BG responds to what you have eaten?



You really need a cholesterol breakdown (ldl, hdl, trigs) since hdl is thought protective, so just an overall figure isn't v helpful (I gather cardiologists use trigs/hdl to calculate cardiovascular risk)

PS I gather the best fats for most people are olive oil, butter, dripping and coconut oil, and about 75% of people see a reduction in LDL in response to an increase in fat consumption, although this link suggests coconut oil and coffee might be an issue.

Thanks pdmjoker, what you’ve written makes a lot of sense. I think coffee could well be a factor too. The breaded chicken or breaded anything should go. I have friends saying have just a cake every now and then. I know that if I did it would become a problem and I think that’s what’s happened. I’m better off saying no to a food type as otherwise it’s uncontrolled. All or nothing. The coffee consumption has increased recently, I’ll swap for more rooibos. And chocolate, how often one square allowance becomes two. Thanks for the link. Very interesting. Yep, the big monitor is back on the side. I can do this.

 

[Bex72]

3rd July 2021 marks my 3rd Keto anniversary! I have maintained the 4 stone (25kg) total weight loss, and although I was prediabetic before going Keto (HbA1c 42) my latest HbA1c was a very low 33.

Many thanks to those who run this forum and all who have supported me personally on my journey (and sorry about all the awful puns! )

For more info please see the documents in my signature or attached to my post here

Extra info can be found at my mobile friendly website https://easierdieting.github.io/

Well done on your achievements, you’ve worked hard and have done incredibly well.

 

[Bex72]

I definitely wobbled my numbers with breaded stuff - chicken, quorn fillets and what have you. I really love them (Love carbs) and while I'm sure the occasional one doesn't make much difference, once I start it quietly escalates!

Hedonista, I am exactly the same! I need to just avoid certain foods as managing tiny amounts for me is difficult. It just creeps up and becomes a problem. Ironically, I used to really enjoy eating quorn mince to make 5 bean chilli, however I have become intolerant to it recently.

My diabetic nurse wasn’t particularly interested in low carb eating and warned me that as soon as my eating habits changed/slipped, the diabetes would be back. I’m disappointed with myself as I am trying to buy life insurance and wanted to do it before turning 50. I needed to get a non diabetic blood test to be able to do this. You live and learn. My initial hba1c was 78mmol/mol on diagnosis so I have made significant improvements and know that I can lower it further again.

 

[Bex72]

Fish fingers and Turkey goujons spike me badly but somehow a jumbo cod in batter with said batter included hardly makes any impression.

It’s all trial and error isn’t it. My monitor will help me understand what I can and cannot do. I just need to put some more effort in again.

 

[pdmjoker]

Thanks pdmjoker, what you’ve written makes a lot of sense. I think coffee could well be a factor too. The breaded chicken or breaded anything should go. I have friends saying have just a cake every now and then. I know that if I did it would become a problem and I think that’s what’s happened. I’m better off saying no to a food type as otherwise it’s uncontrolled. All or nothing. The coffee consumption has increased recently, I’ll swap for more rooibos. And chocolate, how often one square allowance becomes two. Thanks for the link. Very interesting. Yep, the big monitor is back on the side. I can do this.

I've made a few mistakes en route - we all need to find our own way. I just remove the coating when we have breaded cod...

Not to everyone's taste, but Montezuma do a 100% cocoa chocolate which has no sugar and is only 8g carbs for the whole 90g bar!

Quoting from the Practical Tips for following a Low Carb or Ketogenic Diet pdf in my signature:

When starting a Ketogenic diet, it takes 3 or 4 days for the body to switch into Ketosis (fat-burning
rather than glucose-burning mode). Soon after this you will likely notice less hunger, improved mental
clarity and other benefits (e.g.: reduced lethargy, improved digestion). Three weeks in and you will be
very well Keto-adapted. Although a Keto diet seems to naturally suit endurance athletes,
strength/speed athletes might take up to 3 months to reach their peak performance.

If doing Keto, slight excesses of carbohydrate aren't a problem: e.g. you may start feeling hungrier,
but if you take note and make dietary corrections then it will settle down again in a day or so. Since
the Keto adaptation process takes time, it isn't possible (for example) to do Keto during the week but
not at weekends. Also, I gather one major excess of carbohydrate could take over a week to recover
from, so is worth avoiding.
​

although I'm not sure if you are doing a stricter Keto diet currently.

And you can indeed do this!

 

[Bex72]

I've made a few mistakes en route - we all need to find our own way. I just remove the coating when we have breaded cod...

Not to everyone's taste, but Montezuma do a 100% cocoa chocolate which has no sugar and is only 8g carbs for the whole 90g bar!

Quoting from the Practical Tips for following a Low Carb or Ketogenic Diet pdf in my signature:

When starting a Ketogenic diet, it takes 3 or 4 days for the body to switch into Ketosis (fat-burning
rather than glucose-burning mode). Soon after this you will likely notice less hunger, improved mental
clarity and other benefits (e.g.: reduced lethargy, improved digestion). Three weeks in and you will be
very well Keto-adapted. Although a Keto diet seems to naturally suit endurance athletes,
strength/speed athletes might take up to 3 months to reach their peak performance.

If doing Keto, slight excesses of carbohydrate aren't a problem: e.g. you may start feeling hungrier,
but if you take note and make dietary corrections then it will settle down again in a day or so. Since
the Keto adaptation process takes time, it isn't possible (for example) to do Keto during the week but
not at weekends. Also, I gather one major excess of carbohydrate could take over a week to recover
from, so is worth avoiding.
​

although I'm not sure if you are doing a stricter Keto diet currently.

And you can indeed do this!

Thanks Pdmjoker,
I am quite strict with low carb. My mistakes have been wine, chocolate and breaded chicken. I’ve tried 100% cocoa chocolate and really didn’t like it. Maybe it’s an acquired taste. I have started using my BG monitor again and I think this (and not eating inbetween meals) will help me make improvements.
Lots of people I know with diabetes take their meds and don’t make much adjustment to their diet. I found metformin really unpleasant and quit it after a couple of weeks. I guess I have to look upon my food as medicine.

I do feel much fitter having considerably less carb in my diet. It’s amazing how little I understood about diet and that I didn’t realise starchy foods lead to spikes in blood glucose.
Thanks again for the encouragement.

 

[Fenn]

Hi, just had to share somewhere, don’t mind no one reading it, almost three months Keto, my Hba1c has gone from 66 to 52 today! I still struggle a little during days at work when I’m out and about but this time around I’ve found keto much easier as I was already Lowish carb so much less to give up. I’ve even been dabbling in fasting, not ready for long term but the 18:6 is doable for me. Insulin doses way way wayyyyy down.

Anyway, yay me!

 

[bulkbiker]

Hi, just had to share somewhere, don’t mind no one reading it, almost three months Keto, my Hba1c has gone from 66 to 52 today! I still struggle a little during days at work when I’m out and about but this time around I’ve found keto much easier as I was already Lowish carb so much less to give up. I’ve even been dabbling in fasting, not ready for long term but the 18:6 is doable for me. Insulin doses way way wayyyyy down.

Anyway, yay me!

Yay you indeed.. and well done.

 

[Fenn]

Yay you indeed.. and well done.

Gracias, I am feeling rather chuffed hehe

 

[MrsA2]

Gracias, I am feeling rather chuffed hehe

Yay Indeed!

 

[lovinglife]

Well done @Fenn great achievement